Abound Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,194 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,553,000. Apple makes up about 1.3% of Abound Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Apple stock traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,620,753. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.25.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.